Details
I spent an afternoon at the Luxembourg Gardens watching a peacock unfurl its tail into the late sun. The gold seemed to pour out of the feathers themselves. Back in the studio I wanted the ground of the painting to be the source of that glow, not just a background. So the gold leaf went down first — an entire warm sea — and everything else was painted to float on top of it.
Painted on 4mm Schott B270 glass using hand-ground azurite and malachite mineral pigments mixed with enamel binder. Eight layers kiln-fired. The gold leaf ground is applied with traditional garlic-juice sizing over a toned bole. Framed in quartered white oak with a natural hardwax-oil finish.
Built to be backlit. A warm-white 3000K LED panel behind the frame turns the entire amber ground into a standing halo. In ambient light, the peacock reads as a jewel; backlit, it becomes stained glass.
Dust with a dry microfiber cloth on the front face only. The mineral pigments are permanent; the gold leaf is sealed behind enamel and will not tarnish.
Ships within 7 business days in a custom crate with shock-absorbing foam, fully insured. Complimentary continental US shipping.
Includes a signed Certificate of Authenticity, numbered holographic seal, digital provenance record, and a studio photograph of the gold leaf ground before the plumage was painted.
